But, despite dominating possession in the first half of the game, the home side failed to establish themselves going forward making the South Africans have the best opportunity at goal in 42nd minute following a cross by Langerman into the box, which Akpeyi failed to deal with, leading to the ball hitting the crossbar.
With the first half ending in stalemate for both sides, in the 54th minute Tokelo Rantie breaks the deadlock with a great header from inside the box after a decent cross by Mphahlele on the right hand side putting South Africa are in front.
And another goal by Percy Tau in the 81st minute after catching a largely inexperienced Nigerian defenders off-guard before going pass Akpeyi to find the back of the net meant an unlikely comeback for the eagles at the nest of champions in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Meanwhile, for the lackluster performance, Nigerians have been reacting to the match outcome calling for the head of the 63-year-old coach, with social media also becoming awashed with the match’s unbecoming outcome.
The New Diplomat gathered from angry Nigerians who reacted on Facebook and here’s what Dimeji Agba has got to say: “The 23-man squad selected by Rohr was the beginning of his failure, the players lack experience against South African players that have geared well together in many games. I don’t think the coach understands the Nigerian partner of play.”
But to Jude Igiebor, the invited players were in order, saying the coach lacks managerial ability to bring out the best in them. “What else should we expect in a team that has Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ogenyi Onazi alongside others players playing top football in foreign leagues compared to what South Africa has. I believe Rohr should go,” he said.
Also, another disappointed Nigerian fan, Ziggy wrote that “#NFF should start looking for new coach, Rohr should go or else we will miss out again at the next #AFCON for the third time in a row.”
Speaking with The New Diplomat, an online editor at sportflames.com, Oluwale Olatoye lamented that the newly appointed Super Eagles manager has a less than stellar managerial record, and this may be an indicator of rough times ahead especially qualifying Nigeria for the next AFCON in Cameroon.
On the porous defence that allowed two goals in, he noted that, “Baxter’s game plan worked well this evening because he explored the weakness of the defenders selected by coach Rohr. His team frustrated Nigerians throughout the game, and defended well to keep their opponents at bay. Nigeria had chances to bury Bafana early on but they were never in good positions.”
He said, “Rohr has managed a number of teams as in clubs and countries – from Bordeaux, Nice, Young Boys, Ajaccio, Etoile du Sahel, Nantes, Gabon, and Niger to Burkina Faso. He has stayed in his job for more than a year only three times, as his managerial career is punctuated by sackings and fall-outs with the hierarchy.”
Olatoye further said, history suggests Rohr might continue to struggle as the handler of the Super Eagles given his chequered past in his previous jobs, “but it would be unwise for the NFF to allow his managerial downsides deny us another AFCON appearance, despite missing out on the previous two editions.”
